73-Year-Old Michigan Woman Believed She Won Over $3M but got SCAMMED for $700K

[larry_vw_1955]

73-Year-Old Michigan Woman Believed She Won Over $3M from Publishers Clearing House, Instead She Was Using Bitcoin ATMs and Buying Jewelry In $700K Scam

In total, the woman sent more than $669,500 before she gathered that something wasn't adding up with the sweepstakes winnings and told a friend. Her friend told her it was a scam and she reported it to police on March 17.

this scammer really got ahold of that ladies bank account and milked her for every cent. it sounds like.


"She went back and forth, sent multiple cashier’s checks, deposited money into bitcoin ATMs, which was then transferred into the suspect’s account, and also bought a couple of pieces of high-end jewelry and sent them to the suspect,”

if that $669,500 was any significant part of her net worth then you have to wonder how someone could be THAT DUMB.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/73-year-old-michigan-woman-believed-she-won-over-3m-from-publishers-clearing-house-instead-she-was-using-bitcoin-atms-and-buying-jewelry-in-700k-scam/ar-BB1kNGEy

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[blckhawk]

That's a sad thing, old people really need young adults in their life because with these people running around scamming them of their retirement, it's going to be even more rampant, with more and more people getting old and having more money for their retirement, they're never going to find peace because they're always going to be a target of these scammers and we know how much those people like to do it especially being such an easy money for them if the elderly bites the bait of the scam. Or maybe move them away from their electronics or phone because that's how these scammers get you, by phone or by emails. It's a good thing that people all over the world with a really high expertise in network infiltration are doing the work of exposing these scammers and trying their best to destroy their networks, I donate to those people whenever I can because most of them do it full time without payment because YouTube doesn't monetize them but through donations, they're able to do it.

[adaseb]

The bitcoin ATM scams are bad. They even have warnings on all the bitcoin ATMs that if someone calls you and claims to be the police and you need to pay some fine in bitcoin, it’s a scam and to ignore them.

I remember a few years back when bitcoin atms were new. There was a lady at one and she was clueless how to operate it. She showed me her phone and said she needs to send this much BTC to this address, I looked and read the messages above and noticed she was getting scammed. I told her about it and she was relieved. It’s crazy how many people fall for all these scams.

[seoincorporation]

Damn, i feel bad for that old lady, the illusion of winning $3M blind her common sense and she gets into a deep hole.

Some years ago i got scammed in the same way, but i only lost $50... the way that the scam works was the next. I got an invitation to test a casino, and after some bets i won $150k, but when i tried to withdraw support told me that i have to confirm my account and for that need to make a deposit at least of $50, and i think "risking $50 to get $150k worth it", so i made the deposit, but after trying to make the withdraw they told me that something was wrong with my deposit and i have to make a new one, in that moment i realized how i was scammed, and just walked away. There was nothing else to do.

[Ale88]

"She went back and forth, sent multiple cashier’s checks, deposited money into bitcoin ATMs, which was then transferred into the suspect’s account, and also bought a couple of pieces of high-end jewelry and sent them to the suspect,”

I partially blame the bank as well at this point: I understand many old people fall for this scams but bank employees should be very aware of the situation. If all of sudden you start withdrawing money and getting cashier's checks one after the other, the bank should ask you a couple of questions just to make sure you know what you are doing, especially if it's an old customer doing that. It's fun how banks often asks questions for perfectly legit transfers but when there is something that would raise a ton of rd flags nobody notices it 

[_BlackStar]

Let's be honest - this is not a pleasant story to hear. I just wonder why such an old and rich woman doesn't have someone she can trust by her side – especially when she's dealing with a lot of money. In my opinion, $700K is a lot of money - so a 70+ year old should have someone accompany him wherever he goes rather than doing it alone.

I didn't read the OP's entire story even though I tried to open the news link - but I admit it's not a pleasant story. It's a shame that an elderly woman like her has to lose a lot of money because of scam.

[Fiatless]

"She went back and forth, sent multiple cashier’s checks, deposited money into bitcoin ATMs, which was then transferred into the suspect’s account, and also bought a couple of pieces of high-end jewelry and sent them to the suspect,”

if that $669,500 was any significant part of her net worth then you have to wonder how someone could be THAT DUMB.

In some cases, greed is one of the reasons why people fall for these scammers. I have had issues when I was told that I won a huge sum in lotteries I never bought tickets. But some people might see it as a miracle and start following the directives of these scammers. I assume that these scammers can easily be tracked since there was a transfer from the ATM to bank accounts. The majority of the targets of these scammers are elderly people because many of them are not familiar with these new scams and can be easily deceived because of mental decline. They are not dumb, they are just victims of sophisticated crimes.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

73-Year-Old Michigan Woman Believed She Won Over $3M from Publishers Clearing House, Instead She Was Using Bitcoin ATMs and Buying Jewelry In $700K Scam

In total, the woman sent more than $669,500 before she gathered that something wasn't adding up with the sweepstakes winnings and told a friend. Her friend told her it was a scam and she reported it to police on March 17.

this scammer really got ahold of that ladies bank account and milked her for every cent. it sounds like.


"She went back and forth, sent multiple cashier’s checks, deposited money into bitcoin ATMs, which was then transferred into the suspect’s account, and also bought a couple of pieces of high-end jewelry and sent them to the suspect,”

if that $669,500 was any significant part of her net worth then you have to wonder how someone could be THAT DUMB.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/73-year-old-michigan-woman-believed-she-won-over-3m-from-publishers-clearing-house-instead-she-was-using-bitcoin-atms-and-buying-jewelry-in-700k-scam/ar-BB1kNGEy

I wouldn't say it was because she is a woman that led to the way she was scammed in such manner, even men can fall the same way she did if care i not taken, sometimes we need experience in doing something and not that we went straight ahead in doing them, also, if we are likely to make a very quick return on something and with huge amount of money, we are to give a second thought because such is likely to be a scam, had it been she was being observant right from the start of the whole thing, she would have sensed something phishy in them, though i don't often see related scam in such manners with the use of bitcoin ATM than now.

[Husires]

These elderly watch TV are easily lured by lottery companies and scammers have found a way to convince her that she has won that amount and that she needs to pay the tax money and money for the car she won. The federal government report says that the amount is about 3 billion annually, most of which is from people claiming to be bank employees or government officials.

[kentrolla]

The bitcoin ATM scams are bad. They even have warnings on all the bitcoin ATMs that if someone calls you and claims to be the police and you need to pay some fine in bitcoin, it’s a scam and to ignore them.

I remember a few years back when bitcoin atms were new. There was a lady at one and she was clueless how to operate it. She showed me her phone and said she needs to send this much BTC to this address, I looked and read the messages above and noticed she was getting scammed. I told her about it and she was relieved. It’s crazy how many people fall for all these scams.

I have seen numerous stuffs like this wherein one of the relative was targetted by scammers stating they have a screen recording of him watching porn along with access to his front camera and everything was recorded and were blackmailing him to sent the funds through Bitcoin else they would forward it to his contacts. There are different methods used by these scammers hence it better to check with someone who has knowledge on these things before making any wrong move.

[thecodebear]

It's amazing how gullible some people are. You would think this sort of thing wouldn't work on a single person in the world, and yet people fall for it. She thought that in order to get winnings she had to repeatedly hand over lots of money, and jewelry, to someone. I can't even imagine being that gullible unless she has severe old age mental issues.

[acroman08]

if that $669,500 was any significant part of her net worth then you have to wonder how someone could be THAT DUMB.

She's old, a lot of old people are not that tech savvy or up to date with scams that are going on and to protect themselves from it. it's also the reason why a lot old people are scammers prime targets. also, I remember reading from an article in the past that old people are far more trusting compared to younger generation.

[GbitG]

That's sucks, I feel sorry for her.
 
Scammers often target people they know are vulnerable and can be easy targets for them, They know if they are trying to target someone young, they will be able to understand their plots more easily which is why they often target people who are old and give them offers they can't refuse to lure them into their scams and then gain access to their funds in some way.
 
I heard a similar story a few months ago where the scammer scammed a woman who was a single parent. She was a personal banker and had saved some money for the future of herself and her son. The scammer made friends with her and they stayed friends for months before the scammer did his job. He told her that he knows someone who is into some trading business or something and she can earn good money if he makes an investment with him. The woman couldn't think he is lying because they have been in contact for about 3 months or so and he had already won her trust. The scammer took away about $600k from her on the name of trading with a fake exchange and stuff like that..

[Maus0728]

The bitcoin ATM scams are bad. They even have warnings on all the bitcoin ATMs that if someone calls you and claims to be the police and you need to pay some fine in bitcoin, it’s a scam and to ignore them.

The problem with this one is this scam got a high success rate depending on how intimidating the scammer and compelling they are that they're the police or whatever person they pretend to be, that's why they target old people, they're old and they don't really have a good feel of their surroundings so it's easy to go for them if the scammers want an easy victim.

I remember a few years back when bitcoin atms were new. There was a lady at one and she was clueless how to operate it. She showed me her phone and said she needs to send this much BTC to this address, I looked and read the messages above and noticed she was getting scammed. I told her about it and she was relieved. It’s crazy how many people fall for all these scams.

There was an reply here by @blckhawk that talked about having young people around old people so they don't become victims of this scam, this is basically that scene that I'm picturing from what I've understood in that post. I guess you've just made some scammer's life a bit miserable, they thought they're about to get to paid but it seems to be not the case, I guess the risk is on them that the old victim doesn't know how to navigate the bitcoin ecosystem and you just happen to be there! Be proud that you're the bane of scammers my guy!

[oktana]

What can I say, she’s an old woman and may not understand the way scammers operate these days. It is very important to note that any body who asks you to send money to claim your balance or winning or anything at all is 99% trying to scam you. Considering her age, this could be all the money that she has worked for. It is too much of an amount that I understand how terrible she must feel (unless she is a millionaire/billionaire). I hope this serves as a lesson which people can learn from, and know to not trust anyone.

[Alone055]

It is very important to note that any body who asks you to send money to claim your balance or winning or anything at all is 99% trying to scam you.

The thing is, these scammers are pretty good with the tricks and plots that they use to victimize people, and one wouldn't even understand that they are getting scammed because they use such wording, they approach you in a very good manner starting a conversation that doesn't make you feel like they are here to scam you because they wouldn't get to the point straight away. The scammer will make you feel unaware of what is happening or what is going to happen so that you don't suspect anything.

I have seen and experienced such things and I know how smooth they are in this craft. You will find a lot of such scammers in Telegram if you join crypto-related Telegram groups and channels. Someone like me or you who is experienced and knows such things wouldn't fall for their traps but someone who is new in the space would think they might have something good to offer because they would target people by giving them offers that they can't refuse out of greed.

[Rabbitqt]

It's hard to feel sorry for people like this. She only realized after sending 600k? I'm sorry, but they don't deserve this type of money if they lack common sense. Maybe next time, in her limited life, she will be wiser...

People spend their whole lives accumulating money like this then spend a total of 5 minutes sending it to some random that has promised unrealistic returns without any research... The old adage rings very true but yet forgotten: 'If something sounds too good to be true, it likely is.

[pinggoki]

What can I say, she’s an old woman and may not understand the way scammers operate these days. It is very important to note that any body who asks you to send money to claim your balance or winning or anything at all is 99% trying to scam you. Considering her age, this could be all the money that she has worked for. It is too much of an amount that I understand how terrible she must feel (unless she is a millionaire/billionaire). I hope this serves as a lesson which people can learn from, and know to not trust anyone.

That's the reason why they're the most targeted, they don't understand technology and they don't have a good way of telling that they're being scammed because it's unfamiliar to them and even if they're cautious, most of the scammers operate in a scheme that isn't too good to be true which means that the scam might look true because it doesn't promise you anything other than the fact that they can continue your subscription on something or they can cancel it. This is definitely the worst time to be an old person, your retirement money (I suppose) getting stolen isn't something you can shrug off, you can't work and that's all that you're relying on, it's such a deplorable scheme to be targeting the weak and old, I hope that there's enough people that are doing whatever they can to fight against these evil, these can't go any longer.

[headingnorth]

Greed makes people do stupid things.

Imagine if she invested that $600k into bitcoin during the last bear market.
She would have been up close to $3 million already by just holding as a long term investment.

[davis196]

if that $669,500 was any significant part of her net worth then you have to wonder how someone could be THAT DUMB.

Most old people are losing their cognitive abilities at a certain age, which makes them dumb and gullible.
That's why seniors are the main victims of online scams. By the way, why did you post this forum thread here? Is it because she was using Bitcoin ATMs to send BTC to the scammer? Banning Bitcoin ATMs won't solve the problem. The scammers will always find a way to convince her to send them money. In most cases, the scammers convince old people to send them gift cards. Why aren't gift cards banned?
Having 700K in her bank account mean that this old woman was in a pretty good financial state. I don't know why a rich person would play lottery games or sweepstakes, but as I said, old people start losing their minds at a certain age.